Chocolate Tahini Gingerbread Cookies

Welcome to the first installment of cookie week!

I thought it would be fun to celebrate holiday baking now that we’re officially into December, and so I’ll be sharing some cookie recipes with you all week long. Yay!

To kick things off, I’m taking a quintessential Christmas cookie recipe (gingerbread) and making a few fun tweaks.

Personally, gingerbread is not my fave. It’s often overly spiced and kind of dry. I wanted to come up with something that would not only taste super delicious but would have a softer texture and chew as well. I took a standard gingerbread recipe and swapped in some melted chocolate and nutty tahini for some of the molasses.

And guess what?

The results were heavenly! The cookie came out sweeter and nuttier and had some notes of chocolate that were to die for. The tahini is a very special but fun twist on this traditional cookie. I absolutely love the flavor it adds.

Plus they stay nice and soft with a tender chewy texture!

This was my first attempt at homemade gingerbread cookies, and I have to say, I may never use a traditional recipe going forward. These are so yummy just as they are.

Kieran and I had a lot of fun rolling out the dough and cutting out the shapes, too. I usually loathe rolled cookies (I don’t have the time/patience!), but these were fun to do with my child.

While he napped in the afternoon, I whipped up a quick tahini icing to decroate these with, and not only was it super easy to work with (I also hate icing cookies, for the record), but it really drove home that nutty tahini thing. SO delicious with the chocolate and spices of the cookies.

For someone who doesn’t like high-maintenance cookie recipes, these were so fun to make and much easier than I was expecting. Even if my decorating leaves something to be desired!

They’re still kinda cute, though, right??

Chocolate Tahini Gingerbread Cookies

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• Yield: roughly 3 dozen cookies 1x

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Ingredients

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For the Cookies:

• 1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• ¼ cup molasses
• ¼ cup tahini paste
• ¼ cup water

For the Decorating Icing:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon tahini paste
• 1–2 tablespoons milk
• Sprinkles, as desired

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Instructions

For the Cookies:

1. Place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat 2-3 more times until the chocolate chips are completely melted. Set aside.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add in the molasses, tahini, and melted chocolate.
4. Add in half of the flour mixture and mix to combine. Add in the water and mix. Finally, add in the remaining half of the flour mixture. Mix until the batter is smooth and well combined.
5. Place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a disc. Wrap in the plastic wrap and set in the fridge for 30 minutes. You want the dough to chill down so it’s easier to work with but not to the point where it’s rock hard. You won’t be able to roll it out if it’s too cold.
6. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Divide the dough in quarters and roll each section on a floured surface to a ¼-inch thickness. Cut dough into desired shapes using cookie cutters or a sharp knife. Place the cut cookies on the prepared baking sheets. Continue with all the dough.
8. Bake for 5-6 minutes or until the edges are set and the centers are still slightly soft. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before moving them to cooling racks to cool completely.
9. Once the cookies are cooled, decorate as desired.

For the Decorating Icing:

1. Place the powdered sugar in a bowl and whisk in the tahini and 1 tablespoon of milk.
2. Whisk until smooth, adding more milk or sugar to get a drizzling consistency.
3. Place in a piping or resealable plastic bag, snip the corner, and pipe onto the cookies. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired.

Adapted from here.